Once Upon a Meadow in Godric's Hollow
by Little.Miss.Xanda
Summary: Gellert faced defeat not because he was weak, but because he loved with a force far stronger than he was willing to admit.


**Disclaimer**: Anything you recognize belongs to the incomparable J. K. Rowling. No money is being made from this.

**Written for the Quidditch League Fanfiction Competition – Season Seven – Round Nine**

**Chaser 3 Reserve for the Tutshill Tornados**

**Round 9**

Long Live (the) Queen!

* * *

This round is a tribute to the legendary rock band, Queen, and its iconic lead singer and pianist, Freddie Mercury. Each position's stories should be inspired by the Queen song allocated to them. But, there's a catch! Your story should contain at least one line of lyric from the song. Please mention what lyric you've used in your a/n!

**Chaser 3 Reserve**: Somebody to Love

**Lyrics: **They say I'm going crazy

**Extra prompts**:

2\. (dialogue) "We are the champions!"

10\. (image) Queen performing to a screaming crowd [ urlzs X5hvd]

13\. (quote) 'Remember to deliver with the speed of light, A little bit of love and joy' - The March of the Black Queen by Queen

**Word Count**: 1016

Thanks to my amazing team for betaing. You're all amazing!

* * *

**Once Upon a Meadow in Godric's Hollow**

"_**Remember to deliver with the speed of light…"**_

He smirked at the gathered crowd in front of him. Hundreds upon hundreds of wizards and witches had come together to see him, to hear him.

"We are the champions!" he called, and the crowd cheered. "We withstood centuries of oppression! We hid away! We cowered behind our wards. No more! We are the chosen! We are the champions of magic, and we will not let the Muggles oppress us any longer! No more hiding!"

Again, the crowd cheered, and he basked in their worship. He glanced to his left—a fleeting look that no one but those who had been with him longest would notice—and, as was becoming habit, he buried the emotions that were quick to surge every time he saw the empty spot to his left.

* * *

"_It'll be amazing!"_

_Gellert smirked—Albus was practically gushing, and he looked adorable, not that he would ever say those words out loud. "I know," he said, leaning back against the tree, soaking in the morning sun. "We'll claim what's rightfully ours. No more hiding."_

_Albus flopped onto the soft grass beside him. "No more hiding," he said in a hushed tone as if afraid to voice the words._

_Gellert reached for a lock of hair that had fallen in front of those bright blue eyes. Why was it that everything about Albus enchanted him? "Merlin, I want to kiss you," he murmured, heart beating wildly in his chest._

_Pink dusted Albus' cheeks—as it always did—then he was leaning over, and they both lost themselves to more important matters._

* * *

He shook his head. Albus had chosen his path, and he… he looked at the gathered crowd once more. Well, he had chosen his.

"Grindelwald!"

"Grindelwald!"

"Grindelwald!"

"_**Grindelwald!"**_

* * *

"My Lord?"

Gellert looked up from the paper. He smiled at Johna, one of his trusted few—someone who had been there for him since his time at Durmstrang.

"They say I'm going crazy."

Johna's lips twitched and Gellert raised an eyebrow. "With all due respect, my Lord, that's nothing new."

Gellert laughed, flinging the newspaper away. "They're afraid. They never thought I would gather such a following. Never thought that ordinary witches and wizards from all over the world would share the same dream."

He stood, marching towards Johna and gripping his shoulders. "We'll be free, my friend, I promise you."

When Johna leaned in and kissed him, Gellert didn't stop him—even if his entire being ached for someone else.

* * *

For a fraction of a second, Gellert froze.

He wasn't ready. He didn't think he would ever be ready.

"Albus," he said, his hurt and betrayal buried under layers of nonchalance.

"Gellert," Albus replied.

Gellert twitched. Why? Why did even his name sound like a condemnation coming from Albus.

"What are you doing here?" Gellert asked. "Have you finally come to your senses? Are you ready to take back our birthright?"

Albus frowned, shaking his head. "This was never what I wanted."

Gellert scoffed. "So I was alone, was I, in the meadows of Godric's Hollow? Those lazy mornings were spent all by myself, were they?"

"Gellert—"

"No!" Gellert raised his wand. "Do you have any idea what you did to me?" he snarled, throwing a curse at Albus, even if it killed him inside. "Every morning I wake up and find you gone, I die a little. This was never meant to be my world conquest! This was meant to be our dream! Freedom for us! For your sister, so nothing like that ever happened again. Have you forgotten?"

The wards around his Manor shattered, but Gellert paid it no heed. His followers were well trained; they would hold their ground. Even if he were to fall, they would carry on.

"I never wanted genocide!" Albus cried, and it felt like a slap in the face.

Did Albus not know him at all?

"You… you lost yourself, Gellert! You've become consumed by all this darkness."

Gellert dodged the curse aimed at him.

"No," he repeated, and his tone stopped Albus in his tracks. "You did. You lost me. You lost yourself. You lost everything." He glared, his rage breaking years of faked indifference. "I worked hard every day for us! Even after you made me leave, I spent years believing in you! I spent years _waiting_ for you!"

He let his magic free, wrecking the room they were in.

"I didn't lose myself. _You _left. _You _broke us. You left me with no one to believe in."

He wasn't going to face defeat.

Gellert closed his eyes as the heavy doors slammed shut behind him.

He was a coward. When had he become such a weak fool? Deep down, he had known that he would never be able to truly harm Albus, no matter the cost to himself.

Could things have been different if he had stayed after Arianna's death? If he had told Albus that he loved him? That the only thing he wanted was to be beside him?

He doubted Albus would have believed him even if he had said it.

He dropped to his knees, bowing his head and letting the tears he had held at bay fill his eyes.

* * *

_Gellert sighed, his hand caressing Albus' soft hair._

"_Something the matter?" Albus mumbled into his chest, more asleep than awake._

"_No," he said softly, eyes on the vast expanse of sky over them. "Just… enjoying the peace."_

_He felt Albus smile, and his lips twitched in answer to the gentle kiss Albus laid right over his heart._

"_We'll have many moments like this in the future," Albus said, snuggling closer. "It's what we're fighting for, right?"_

"_Right," Gellert murmured, wrapping an arm around Albus and holding him close. A few more moments passed between them. "Albus?"_

"_Hmm?"_

"_I love you," he said. You're my joy, my dream, my reason, he didn't say._

_His only reply was Albus' deep, slow breaths, and Gellert smiled. They had their whole lives ahead of them to profess their love._

"… _**a little bit of love and joy."**_


End file.
